When to Plant Oenothera in Lake Forest, CA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You will be able to determine when you can plant oenothera by checking out the USDA zone info for Lake Forest.


Planting Calendar for Oenothera

Frost tolerance for oenothera: Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant: Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Oenothera do well in moderate cold which means that you can start planting them earlier than other frost tender plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant oenothera
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant oenothera
Probably not a good time to plant oenothera

The earliest that you can plant oenothera in Lake Forest is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant oenothera and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your oenothera may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your oenothera indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on January 31 in Lake Forest. You should expect an average low temperature of 30°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Lake Forest and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Lake Forest you get a frost after January 31 be ready to cover your oenothera if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lake Forest

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)December 15
Lowest Expected Low30°F
Highest Expected Low35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Lake Forest

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Lake Forest.